West Asia and North Africa has vast areas of steppe and desert favourable to pastoralism because of the prevalent arid and mountainous conditions. Pastoral areas in this region comprises of high-altitude mountains, coastal Mediterranean and the Sahara Desert. Famous images of pastoralism in popular imagination, especially of Bedouin herders, come from this region. Pastoral communities include the Bedouins, Beja, Kurds, Berbers, Tuareg and Western Saharans, who are minority groups in the countries they live in. The Maghreb region, comprising of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Mauritania, is especially important for pastoralism, and almost all rural households in the region keep livestock. The region also encompasses the Arab League countries plus Iran and Turkey. 

This region is known for its traditional rotational rangeland management practice known as Agdal among the Berber and Hima among the Bedouin. In fact, Jordan has been lauded for enshrining the practice into law through its Rangeland Strategy. Meat is the most important pastoral product with small ruminants comprising the majority of the pastoral stock. In Algeria and Libya, for example, 22% and 35%, respectively, of the milk is provided by small ruminants. The region also has a high camel population.

Over the years, this region has seen an intensification of agricultural production and the privatization of common lands. Pastoral mobility and customary organizations have declined. Rangelands in the region are fast degrading and the effects of climate change have become visible with rainfall becoming more erratic and extreme weather events such as severe droughts and floods becoming more common. There is also large livelihood diversification.

The population has also grown rapidly with people under 30 making 70% of the population in the Maghreb. Many pastoralists have dropped out of pastoralism and moved to cities or other countries, including increased migration to Europe. 

The Hub has supported the development of the regional Arab Pastoralist Network. A regional meeting for the West Asia and North Africa region with representatives from 10 countries was held in Tunis, Tunisia in January 2016. Thereafter, the Arab Pastoral Network has been involved in advocacy and rights issues such as the recognition for traditional pasture management through the Hima system, and participation in the Arab Land Conference. 

Representatives from the Arab Pastoral Network have represented pastoral interests in the Civil Society Mechanism for the Committee on World Food Security and participated in the

FAO-CIHEAM meeting on Mediterranean Pastoralism. They have also participated in discussions within the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock through representation from the Alnawatif cooperative in Jordan. Representatives from CENESTA in Iran have participated at the UNCCD in China in 2017, and India in 2019, as well as the Prince Mahidol Award Conference in Thailand in January 2018.

The Hub has supported the development of the Regional Arab Pastoralist Network. A regional meeting for the WAMIP region of West Asia and the WAMIP region of North Africa with representatives from 10 countries was held in Tunis, Tunisia, in January 2016. During the same year 2016, IUCN in Jordan supported the creation of Arab Pastoralist Communities Network ‘’Pasto-Arabic’’. Thereafter, the Arab Pastoralist Communities Network was involved in advocacy and rights activities such as the recognition of traditional pasture management through the Hima system and participation in the Arab Land Conference.

Representatives from the Arab Pastoralist Communities Network represented pastoral interests within the Civil Society Mechanism for the Committee on World Food Security and participated in the FAO-CIHEAM meeting on Mediterranean pastoralism through the representation of the Alnawatif cooperative in Jordan. With the support of the Hub the network “Pasto-Arabic” has also participated in discussions within the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock through the representation from Morocco. Representatives of CENESTA from Iran participated in the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in China in 2017 and in India in 2019, as well as in the Prince Mahidol Award conference in Thailand in January 2018.